Stake down cooler

ABSTRACT

A portable storage container with an anti-theft mechanism. The storage container has internal deployable stakes that are housed within the storage container during transport. Upon placing the storage container on a suitable medium which is sand, the user can deploy the stakes from inside the storage container and into the medium. The lid may have a lock to prevent unauthorized access to the stake system.

PRIORITY/CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/736,082, filed Dec. 12, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concepts generally relateto an apparatus for safely storing items in public places, and moreparticularly to a lockable container that can be secured to the ground.

BACKGROUND

Portable storage containers have become increasingly popular. Theseinclude picnic baskets, camera cases, knap sacks, coolers and othertypes of containers that are light weight and easily moved. Thesecontainers are useful for transporting and storing items for activitiessuch as picnics, concerts, camping trips, beach trips and otheractivities.

Unfortunately, with the rise in popularity of these containers it hasbecome a common problem for thieves to steal unattended or unwatchedstorage containers. In order to fulfill the intended purpose, thesecontainers are generally small, light weight, easily portable, and havehandles. While these features are well suited for the container'sintended use by the owner, these same features result in the containerbeing easily stolen. A thief simply has to walk up to an unattendedcontainer, pick it up, and walk away. Further, with the mass productionof storage containers, no individual container is readily identifiablefrom other containers of similar design. For instance, a red cooler withhandles will look like many other red coolers of similar size. Becauseof the similarity of one container to another, containers can beaccidentally taken by an unauthorized person who has no illegal intent,but simply believes that the container is theirs.

Previous containers have failed to incorporate theft deterrent measures.Many of these, such as GPS tracking devices, are cost prohibitive to theaverage user seeking to get an affordable storage container. An easy touse and economical system for preventing the theft of portable storagecontainers has been elusive. It is difficult to develop a system forsecuring the storage containers because many times, on a beach or in apark, there is not a reasonably stationary and secure object to lock thecontainer to.

Additionally, these containers, especially coolers, can have a tendencyto tip over due to settling of the material below the container,inadvertent force being applied, or due to wind. Upon tipping over, thecontainer can open and the contents can be dispersed across the ground,becoming covered in sand or other material which is difficult tocompletely remove and in the case of food, potentially ruinous.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The invention is a container which has internally stored legs or stakeswhich extend out and penetrate the sand, soil, or other substratebeneath the container. The container would typically be a cooler, butother types of containers would also fall within the inventive conceptof the claims. Other types of containers could include a picnic basket,a camera case, a knapsack, or other types of containers. In the versionof the device which is a cooler, the cooler would be of the type whichhas insulated walls and a hinged lid, and is meant to keep foods cool bythe use of ice or other cooled objects, or an active cooling system. Inthe case of the cooler, the device has stakes which are moved between adeployed position and a retracted position. In the retracted position,the stakes are inside the cooler, either inside the walls of the cooleror in the interior of the cooler adjacent the side walls of the cooler.When the stakes are deployed they extend out from the cooler and areintended to penetrate the substrate below the cooler, which could besand or soil or other substrate. Stakes can be a number of differentshapes in cross-sections such as round, triangular, v or v-shaped. Theseare typical shapes of stakes such as tent stakes which are made topenetrate the ground. The stakes can either be hollow or solid, similarto tent stakes. The stakes can also be semi-circular in cross-section.

In the case of the cooler version, the cooler would operate as any othercooler would in storing food and keeping it cool, such as drinks andother food items. If it were used on a beach, the cooler would be placedon the sand, and the stakes would be extended to secure the cooler tothe substrate, in this case the sand. The purpose of the stakes is tostabilize and secure the cooler so it would not be blown over, dislodgedaccidentally, or even picked up and taken by an unauthorized person. Inthe case of the unauthorized person taking the cooler, if that personwere standing adjacent to the cooler he would also be standing on theretractable stakes. This would tend to secure the cooler from beinglifted off the ground. The lid would typically have a lock so than anunauthorized user could not open the lid, withdraw the stakes from thecooler and then walk off with the cooler.

The cooler or other container could have the stakes be removable fromthe container, and the holes in the container could be plugged by capswhile the stakes are not being used. The stakes would preferably have ameans for locking the stakes in the extended position, unless releasedfrom the inside. In loose sand the stakes may not be long enough toadequately secure the cooler, so stake extensions that snap together orscrew together are an option for such situations.

The purpose of the Abstract is to enable the public, and especially thescientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection, the nature and essence of the technical disclosureof the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define theinventive concepts of the application, which is measured by the claims,nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the inventiveconcepts in any way.

Still other features and advantages of the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concepts will become readily apparent to those skilledin this art from the following detailed description describing preferredembodiments of the inventive concepts, simply by way of illustration ofthe best mode contemplated by carrying out the inventive concepts. Aswill be realized, the inventive concepts are capable of modification invarious obvious respects all without departing from the inventiveconcepts. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferredembodiments are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not asrestrictive in nature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the inventiveconcepts.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bottom side of a storage containerimplementing the inventive concepts.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 6 is perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 7 is a partially exploded view of an embodiment of the inventiveconcepts.

DEFINITIONS

In the following description and in the figures, like elements areidentified with like reference numerals.

The use of “e.g.,” “etc,” and “or” indicates non-exclusive alternativeswithout limitation unless otherwise noted.

The use of “including” means “including, but not limited to,” unlessotherwise noted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While the presently disclosed inventive concepts are susceptible ofvarious modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustratedembodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will bedescribed below in detail. It should be understood, however, that thereis no intention to limit the inventive concepts to the specific formdisclosed, but, on the contrary, the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concepts is to cover all modifications, alternativeconstructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope ofthe inventive concepts as defined in the claims.

While many possible storage containers are envisioned, including cameracases, picnic baskets and knap sacks, a cooler is used as one preferredembodiment to demonstrate the inventive concepts. FIG. 1 illustrates afront perspective view of storage container 10. Storage container 10utilizes a system for releasably affixing storage container 10 to asubstrate. The substrate can be any penetrable support, including sand,gravel, and dirt. This system uses stakes 18 which are deployable fromwithin storage container 10. Stakes 18 are affixed within storagecontainer 10 and slide through the sides 16 of storage container 10through stake holes 22, which are located in the sides 16 of storagecontainer 10. In order to achieve improved cooler characteristics, sides16 can be either insulated or hollow.

Placing stakes 18 inside storage container 10 increases security ofstorage container 10. First, placing the stakes 18 internally concealsthe theft deterrent nature of storage container 10. Second, it requiresa potential thief to open the lid to retract the stakes, requiring moretime and effort for the thief to get away with the storage container 10.Third, if a locking mechanism is added to lock lid 12 to sides 16,storage container 10 becomes secure. Stakes 18 incorporate stake handles20 to allow easier deployment and retraction by a user. To furtherimprove the functionality of the system stake guides 24 are installed toinsure that the stakes do not become misaligned during deployment orretraction.

Stakes 18 are designed and installed to angle downward into the ground.While any angle between horizontal and vertical is allowable, an angleclose to 45 degrees is preferred. In this way the stakes 18 are able toprevent tipping and prevent theft. For example, potential thief willtypically pick up storage container 10 after placing one or both feetnear the base. With stakes 18 properly positioned and deployed, thethief will place one or both feet on the material above the stakes, thusinhibiting the thief from lifting the storage container using thethief's own body weight as an additional anchor.

Stakes 18 can be made of any reasonably hard or stiff material includingplastics, metals, wood, or hybrids. Similar to tent stakes, the stakes18 can be formed in multiple cross-sectional shapes. Possiblecross-sectional shapes include circular, semicircular, and x-shaped aswell as any other shape capable of withstanding the requisite force. Forimproved portability handles 28 can been added to sides 16.

FIG. 2 illustrates a front prospective view of storage container 10where stakes 18 have been placed within a hollow space within the sides16. Stake handles 20 extend into the interior compartment of storagecontainer 10 and stake guides 24 are slots cut within the side 16 todirect movement of stake handle 20 and thus stake 18. Placing stakes 18within the sidewalls produces a regularly shaped interior whilemaintaining the inconspicuous nature of internalizing stakes 18.

FIG. 3 shows a bottom perspective view with 2 stakes deployed. Stakes 18deploy through stake hole 22 which can be located near the corner ofstorage container 10. FIG. 4 illustrates a front perspective view ofstorage container 10 with lid 12 attached. Also depicted is lock 26.Lock 26 is incorporated to secure the internal stake deployment andretraction mechanism from unauthorized persons. Lock 26 can be multipletypes with a simple latch and padlock being shown. In FIG. 4, lid 12 isshown attached via a hinge in the back of storage container 10 but canincorporate multiple locks 26 to insure that an unauthorized personcannot gain access to the stake mechanism.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of storage container 10 with stakeextensions 30 attached. When securing storage container 10 to soft orloose substrate, additional anchoring force may be required beyond thelength of stake 18 that can be retracted within the storage container.In these situations stake extensions 30 can be attached to stakes 18.Stake extensions 30 are attached to stakes 18 via a joint 32. Preferablyjoint 32 is capable of mechanically locking, but other mechanismscapable of extending into substrate and retracting out of substrate areacceptable.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate another preferred embodiment of the storagecontainer 10. FIG. 6 illustrates a storage container 10 in a fullylocked and secured position. FIG. 6 shows side 16 of storage container10 where on at least one side is a padlock receiver 40. Padlock receiver40 can consist of a fixed bracket attached to side 16 with a holecapable of receiving a lock 26, but other configurations such as aswinging latch can be utilized. Lid 12 is configured to have handlegroove 44 pass entirely along the length of lid 12. Handle groove 44extends from the side of the lid associated with padlock receiver 40 onside 16. Handle groove 44 is configured to allow locking handle 34 to berecessed into the top face of lid 12 to reduce the ability of anunauthorized person removing storage container 10. Locking handle 44preferably consists of u-shaped tube or similar structure with handlepost 38 attached to both ends of locking handle 34. Handle post 38 areattached such that they extend toward one another from the respectiveends of locking handle 34. Locking handle 34 further has padlock hole42. Padlock hole 42 is configured to accept a locking mechanism such aspadlock 26. Sides 16 of FIG. 6 having padlock receiver 40 and theopposing side of the storage container 10 will have handle guides 36.Handle guides 36 can be cutouts of the exterior shell of storagecontainer 10 capable of accepting handle posts 38. Handle guides 36 willextend vertically along the sides and preferably along the center ofside 16. Once handle posts 38 are placed within handle guides 36, thelocking handle 34 can be slid from a first unlocked position to a secondlocked position where locking handle 34 rests within handle groove 34.In this lower position, padlock 32 and padlock receiver 40 are alignedand a lock 26 can pass through the padlock receiver and through thehandle lock hole 32 in order to lock locking handle 34 in a loweredposition. In this lowered position with locking handle 34 recessed intolocking groove 44 the handle is unusable to create a lift point that canaid an unauthorized user in removing storage container 10.

FIG. 7 shows locking container 10 with locking handle 34 positioned awayfrom locking container 10. In this embodiment, handle guides 36 areshown as cutouts, or grooves, capable of receiving and guiding handlepost 38, and thus locking handle 34, from the unlocked position to thelocked position. FIG. 8 shows lid 12 having handle groove 44. FIG. 7also shows locking handle 34 having handle posts 38 connected to lockinghandle 34. Handle posts 38 have a base and a flat circular end that isconfigured to secure handle post 38 into handle guides 36. Thisconfiguration allows the handle to slide up and down handle guides 36and allows handle 34 to rotate in relation to storage container 10 whenhandle 34 is in the first unlocked position and handle 34 is being usedby a user to carry storage container 10.

In order to keep valuables, such as purses, cameras, and jewelry dry, aninternal tray can be utilized. This tray could be removable and rest onthe top edge of sides 16 but under lid 12. The tray could have a solidbottom or have one or more holes to allow any liquid that gets onto thetray to flow through the tray and into the main interior compartment ofstorage container 10.

While certain exemplary embodiments are shown in the Figures anddescribed in this disclosure, it is to be distinctly understood that thepresently disclosed inventive concepts is not limited thereto but may bevariously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims.From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changesmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A container with an internal cavity for storageof items comprising: a container body having at least 4 sidewalls, abottom side, and an openable top side which forms the lid; and aplurality of extendable stakes accessible from the container bodyinterior, attached to the inside of said container sidewalls, with saidstakes configured for retracting to an interior position inside thecontainer body, and for extending outside the container body and into asubstrate below the bottom side of said container body, with said stakesconfigured to secure said container to a substrate below said container.2. The container of claim 1 in which said stakes extend beyond afootprint of the container when extended into substrate.
 3. Thecontainer of claim 1 in which said stakes extend from said container atan angle of 25 to 75 degrees.
 4. The container of claim 1 in which saidstakes, when retracted, are withdrawn to a position inside saidsidewalls, and accessible from inside said container.
 5. The containerof claim 1 in which said stakes, when retracted, are on the innersurface of the sidewalls.
 6. The container of claim 1 in which saidcontainer is a cuboid cooler with a lockable lid.
 7. The container ofclaim 1 in which said stakes are extendable by attaching stakeextensions.
 8. The container of claim 1 wherein said container is in theform of a cube.
 9. The container of claim 1 wherein said lid furthercomprises a locking mechanism.
 10. The container of claim 2 in whichsaid stakes extend out at an angle of approximately 45°.
 11. A containerwith an internal cavity for storage of items comprising: a containerbody having at least 4 sidewalls, a bottom side, and an openable topside which forms the lid; and a plurality of extendable stakesaccessible from the container body interior, attached to the inside ofsaid container sidewalls, with said stakes configured for retracting toan interior position inside the container body, and for extendingoutside the container body and into a substrate below the bottom side ofsaid container body, with said stakes configured to secure saidcontainer to a substrate below said container body; at least two handleguides located on said sidewalls; a handle having a lock hole and atleast two handle posts attached to said handle configured to interactwith said handle guides; said handle posts configured to interact withsaid handle guides to allow said handle to slide between a firstextended position and a second retracted position; said lid having agroove configured to accept said handle when said handle is moved tosaid second retracted position; at least one lock receiver attached nearat least one of said handle guides configured to align with said lockhole when said handle is in said second retracted position; said lockhole and said lock receiver configured to accept a lock to preventmovement of said handle.